Packing history into new retail, dining hub

Ken Smith, a New York based landscape architect, stands under the shade structures in Farmer's Park adjacent to the Packing House on Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim. He was the architect for the project.MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Despite decades of neglect at the abandoned Anaheim Citrus Packing House, architect James Wilson saw a set of bare bones that gave him the vision to revive one of the region's last examples of Mission Revival design.

The warehouse's hollow clay tile exterior was intact but needed to be shored up so it wouldn't crumble during an earthquake. Natural light shined through windows lining the original saw-tooth roof, bouncing off maple floors.

The most dramatic features, Wilson said, were the exposed wood trusses crisscrossing the ceiling, later augmented with steel to ensure support.

Wilson was hired to tackle the fixer-upper shortly after city officials purchased the building at Anaheim Boulevard and Santa Ana Street in 2000 in hopes of converting it into a retail and dining hub. More than a dozen years later, an end is finally in sight.

"If you can't find reuse for historic buildings, then they just go away," said Wilson of Thirtieth Street Architects. "I feel that the heritage of a community is important, so I'm very excited and happy about this."

Finishing touches are being made to the Packing House, scheduled to open this fall with more than 20 boutiques and artisan food booths. About 85 percent of the vendor space is leased out, but details won't be released for another month, said developer Shaheen Sadeghi, CEO of LAB Holding.

New tenants are lining up permits and examining the renovated space, which called for cutting into the wood floors on the ground level so that a staircase could be built to the basement as a way to create a connected, giant dining and shopping hall.

Long communal dining tables will be scattered inside the building and on an outdoor terrace that sits atop two flatbed rail cars found in east Anaheim.

"It's exciting to think that the building was originally used to deliver citrus products that people ate, and now we can come back in 2013 and repurpose it as a place that will serve great food," said Sadeghi, who also oversaw redevelopment of the Packard Building and the Center Street Promenade as part of a larger effort to revitalize downtown Anaheim.

City officials have spent $10.4 million to purchase and redevelop the 3 acres encompassing the Packing House, the Packard Building and crafting the new Farmers Park. The entire project was funded by redevelopment-related funds, said city spokeswoman Ruth Ruiz.

Farmers Park, set to open June 29, will serve as a vital connection between the Packing House and the Packard Building. A forest of newly planted olive trees sits in one corner while Valencia orange trees sprout throughout the small park, designed by landscape architect Ken Smith of Workshop West.

Concrete benches emerge from a grass berm to create a small amphitheater for performances. An outdoor fireplace sits at the rear of the Packing House. The local eateries will be able to make use of a community garden that will grow beans, beets, corn and – naturally – Anaheim chile peppers.

Smith said he is particularly proud of a redwood boardwalk shaded by metal awnings, and he hopes that the space will be used as a farmers market.

"It was nothing but derelict asphalt when I got here three years ago," Smith said, gazing at the new park.

"We tried very hard not to be Disneyland; we wanted to be downtown Anaheim," Smith said. "That meant using metal, wood and other materials you find in old industrial buildings and crafting it in a way that made people feel comfortable."

Ken Smith, a New York based landscape architect, stands under the shade structures in Farmer's Park adjacent to the Packing House on Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim. He was the architect for the project. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Seating area in Farmers Park adjacent to the Packing House on Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim. The area was designed by Ken Smith, a New York based landscape architect. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The exterior of the Packing House on Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim. The building is currently being restored and will house cafes and dining areas. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim Orange and Lemon Association (later Anaheim Valencia Orange Association) packing house In 1936. The mission revival style concrete building was built in 1919. COURTESY OF THE ANAHEIM PUBLIC LIBRARY
An inside view of the Anaheim Orange and Lemon Association packing house in June 1919. COURTESY OF THE ANAHEIM PUBLIC LIBRARY

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